I haven’t made much mention of the Real ID act before other than stating that it is a plan to implement a meaningless identification system. It has no value, provides no security or safety, and increases costs to states as an unfunded federal mandate – meaning you and I pay more in state taxes with no reprieve in federal tax payments. In what can only be described as an unexpected move, the now more liberal Senate is implementing changes and ammendments which will slow down and perhaps ultimately stop the Real ID act by limiting the allowable uses of the federally mandated identification card. Maybe I’m just out-of-touch, but I don’t typically expect liberals to make moves that will reduce how much the government interferes with our private lives. However, that’s the movement that is spreading through the Senate right now.

During Wednesday’s floor debate over a massive immigration bill, Real ID foes managed to preserve an amendment to prohibit the forthcoming identification card from being used for mandatory employment verification, signaling that the political winds have shifted from when the law was overwhelmingly enacted two years ago.

The anti-Real ID amendment is backed by two Montana Democrats, Max Baucus and Jon Tester, who say the digital ID cards represent an unreasonable government intrusion into Americans’ private lives. In April, Montana became one of the states that has voted to reject Real ID.

One of the (numerous) problems with the Real ID act is that it is viewed as some security solution. Somehow, if we could just KNOW with whom we are dealing, then we can KNOW if we are at risk or not. I’m not sure where this fallacy comes from, but it appears to have grown since the 9/11 attacks. Apparently, many people believe that had we had this kind of ID system in place, the terrorists couldn’t have flown the planes into buildings. Years ago Bruce Schneier wrote how identification does not equal knowledge of intention. In other words, just because you can say WHO someone is doesn’t mean you can say WHAT they intend to do. And that doesn’t even deal with the issue of forged identity cards. All the 9/11 terrorists had some form of ID. Some had valid state-issued ID cards. Some had fake IDs comparable to what under-age people try to use to get into bars or other age-restricted venues.